Kelsey Briggs' Mother Seeks Part of Settlement

By Jon Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The mother of Kelsey Briggs is suing in federal court to receive proceeds from a settlement in the death of her daughter.

Raye Dawn Smith was convicted of enabling child abuse and was sentenced to 27 years in prison after Kelsey died in 2005 while in the care of Smith and the child's stepfather Michael Lee Porter.

Porter is currently serving a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to enabling child abuse.

Kelsey's father, Lance Briggs, won a $625,000 settlement from the state Department of Human Services and a DHS-contractor, Eastern Oklahoma Youth Services, for failing to do enough to prevent Kelsey's death.

Raye Dawn Smith is suing claiming she is entitled to half of the settlement. Her attorney is arguing that she was not convicted of murder and is therefore under state law just as eligible as the girl's father to receive part of the settlement.

During a hearing Friday in federal Court in Oklahoma City, Lance Briggs pleaded to the court  that the money awarded to him is his money and his alone saying Smith doesn't deserve "one red cent."

During the court hearing, each side was given three and a half hours to present their evidence. Officials said it will take at least a month before the judge is expected to make that decision.

Smith said if she does win the money, she wants to pay her family back for her legal costs. The rest she said she would donate to an infant crisis center and St. Jude's Medical Research Center.